REPORT FROM THE IHM NORTH WEST ANNUAL CONFERENCE 26 JUNE 2008
Released on 04/08/2008
IHM North West held its Annual Conference on Thursday 26 June at the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal. 80 delegates enjoyed a packed conference programme before celebrating the 60th birthday of the NHS at a special conference dinner and disco which went on into the early hours.
The theme of the conference was "The NHS at 60 - the challenges facing healthcare managers", and was chaired by Aidan Kehoe, Deputy Chief Executive at Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who did an excellent job keeping the conference on track and on time.
In the morning session, Sue Hodgetts, IHM Chief Executive, welcomed delegates, and spoke about the IHM's view of the challenges facing healthcare managers. Sue was followed by Ken Jarrold, HSJ columnist and former SHA Chief Executive, who provided an excellent summary of recent key issues and reports affecting the NHS, and presented "10 birthday gifts" for healthcare managers to give to the NHS. Noel Plumridge, HSJ columnist and former NHS Trust Finance Director then gave an interesting overview of the challenges facing NHS finances in the current economic climate.
The afternoon session saw David Fillingham, Chief Executive at Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust, talk about his Trust's commitment to "Lean thinking", and how to introduce a lean approach in practice. Joe Rafferty, Director of Commissioning and Strategy at NHS North West, then gave delegates an overview of "World Class Commissioning". Our final speaker was Professor Richard Wiseman, author of the best selling book, The Luck Factor, who provided a fabulously entertaining session about the lives and minds of lucky people (visit www.richardwiseman.com). Richard's message to health service managers was create your own opportunities, trust your hunches, be optimistic, and turn situations that might be initially seen as bad luck to your advantage by being positive - his research shows people doing this just become more lucky than those who don't.
The conference closed with the ever popular Question Time session chaired by John Harrop from Manchester PCT, with a panel of Aidan, Ken, and David from our speakers, along with Tim Evans, Chief Executive at Bolton PCT, and John Brunt, retired NHS Chief Executive and a former president of the IHM.
The conference dinner and disco was a great way for delegates to relax and celebrate the 60th birthday of the NHS. The special celebration also provided IHM with the opportunity to award "Companionship" to David Fillingham, an excellent way to end IHM North West's celebration of the NHS at 60.
Date for your diary - IHM North West's 2009 conference will take place at The Castle Green Hotel, Kendal on Thursday 25 June 2009, with an evening dinner and disco and overnight stay included. Full details will be announced in early 2009, but reserve the dates in your diary now.
Contact
HOWARD NAYLOR
Email: howardknaylor@hotmail.com
Telephone: 07715038966
